Server Downtime for PU02 December 17, 2013 9:30 AM PT (6:30 PM CET)

<drama>Looks like a TR snowman and his NC friend, again biased against Vanu </drama>

I am not stuck at 96%. Because I'm not trying to log in while the servers are down. Or not fully up.

Yup and m/s speed have no impact on that

I'm a bit torn on this one, quite honestly.

For me, as mainly infantry (engineer) with boots on the ground, trust me when I say there is NOTHING more frightening than realizing a Prowler has taken a seeming interest in my person. That moment when it zooms towards you and slows to a stop...

It's a helpless feeling, that one.

So if they've nerfed them, I say good riddance! Give peace a chance! hehe Nah, I sure hope they haven't taken away that "lump in the throat" feeling from the game.

I hate those damn Prowler cowards. Get down here and fight me like a real man!!!!!!!

Well they did rip apart the Vanu to get the purple for the buttons

The only real problem I see with this update are the changes to the ZOE. It really changes the MAX Engineer dynamic. This interesting play style that emerges because of the fact that ZOE is toggle able. The original way it worked it allowed and encouraged the MAX and Engineer to work as a team. We have all seen a MAX suit turn of ZOE in order to take a rocket meant for an Engineer. Being able to turn off ZOE allows the MAX to have a more interesting play style then just run and gun.

With ZOE on a timer and unable to be turned off in makes it so the MAX has no chose but to have target fixation. Thus forcing the Engineers to act not as a member of a team with the MAX, but more like pilot fish chasing the MAX in order to get a few points.
This makes for a much less interesting and enjoyable gaming experience.

I thought that, then i started another faction char and man do I miss the certed out ESF

Damn, this is pretty rough. Haven't gotten into the game yet, but sounds like everything that I thought as at least kind of fun has been nerfed into oblivion.

ZOE Max needed an adjustment, but I honestly won't touch it now, glad the certs were refunded. I can use 2250 for some guns or something. Good thing Vanu Max weapons aren't complete trash, oh wait...

Harasser could have used a health or mobility nerf along with the rumble seat repair being reduced, but I think a health, mobility, range, repair and damage nerf is pretty extreme. Won't be able to get close to a MBT or lightning now. Groups of infantry will probably also end up being too deadly to approach. You made the decision of whether or not to engage for us and the answer will be no pretty much all the time now. Why weren't certs for harasser composite armor refunded? Would be nice to get the SC I spent on weapons and cosmetics for the harasser back since I probably won't be touching it now.

Nose cannon nerf is welcome, was too easy to mow down groups of infantry with them.

Prowler Anchored Mode should come with a cert refund, honestly. While it didn't completely change like Zealot Overdrive Engine or Harasser composite armor, it's a heavy enough nerf to make it less worthwhile than it was before. Vulcan nerf seems pretty extreme, too.

Why aren't there double XP weekends being hosted once a month? Or every other month? I know it costs SOE money when people get a lot of easy certs, but it really helps to keep the player base engaged. The servers seemed to be packed during the anniversary XP bonus event.

Overall, it looks like you bit off more than you could chew with this. I hope I'm wrong and when the servers finally come back up I can log in and say that everything worked out, but I doubt that will be the case. Now we've landed in cookie-cutter shooter territory. It was already pretty painful to keep playing on the same continents every day doing the same tasks, now I get to do it with just about nothing that will spice things up. Harasser runs were a thrill, now they'll just be frustrating. ZOE Max was fun because it made the max pretty much a heavy and a half, now it's just the same as the TR Max. Not sure what to think about my Prowler or Magrider now, guess I'll just have to try and see. On top of that, the population seems to have plummeted after the anniversary event. Guess I'll just light assault and drop C4 on people's heads for the time being, guessing it'll get nerfed soon enough, so might as well live it up while I can.

Added bullet drop to VS slug ammo? Nooo! not my Nova sniper shotgun!

good job SOE. Game's been out for a year and you're already making people more and more pissed off

Funny you said that, because when I started this game and had no idea about anything, the reason I picked Vanu is because they seemed like the "different" faction, the outsiders. The mysterious ones. Who ARE the Vanu?

I don't mind the bias, in fact I think I like it.

A max should not be able to run as fast as infantry. A max should not be able to kill another max 1v1 before half his health is down. A max should not be able to increase its damage output so much that it can out damage everything else.

There is a reason we constantly saw Gal drops with 11 Zoe maxes and no engineers. Because they didnt need engineers .. dead people cant damage you.

It was OP bud deal with it.

At this point a traditional vanu would say well you have vulcan and you have fractures and ..

yeah they got nerfed too .. deal with it.

Its funny that they nerfed the velocity thinking thats what makes it easier to hit aircraft with a prowler. Silly gooses didn't look at the fact that the anchor prowler shells out 4x as many rounds in the same amount of time as the Mag/Vanguard take to fire one.

So as far as the Prowler nerf goes, its business as usual once I figure out my new leading points.

Managed to get on Esamir for a few mins. Found a snowman, got 775xp for the kill.

Unfortunately now all my characters are gone. Probably due to client side not being able to get to the character server or something (similar issues were had with EQ2).

WOW, and I had guessed we'd get 25XP for each one. LOL Well, this clearly tells how rare they're gonna be. I didn't see any during my brief five minutes on the server, and I was zipping around on a Flash looking.

Kinda hoping the "sighting distance" from the air is small, otherwise Esamir is gonna be filled with planes criss-crossing the landscape and not fighting each other (as early reports already stated). They should be tough to spot from the air, otherwise the pilots will grab them all and we ground types will get none (or more realistically, will have to adapt and fly constantly too).

Well buddy, I know how you feel, I have been on both sides of the barrel, but I think that what you wish for is something a tank in PS2 should never become, a fortress to camp in. If you are afraid of getting C4red or mana turreted, then dont go around alone looking for easy pray. Its the same for ESF annoyances that fly around aimlessly hoping to find someone alone to get free exp.

Instead stay close to your own infantry and keep a descent distance, tanks should never become the force that drives into a hostile base to gank the spawnpoints.

But I know how sad you must feel, I have spent over 4k points on my vanguard and it has been useless for a long time now, ever since the harassers where introduced. 1 vs 1 against a harasser was nearly impossible against TR who knew how to use their G30 Vulcan and composite armor.

It's all sony, when they get their problems sorted out everything will be back to normal.

Believe me, I feel the same way when I'm out 'prowlin' around and an enemy ESF that has strayed from the battle takes a sudden "interest" in me. LOL

My character is gone.

Unfortunately, the tanks are underpowered because they have to be-- there are just too many of them out there. Increasing their power to a large degree would have to come with decreasing their numbers for a large degree as well, which brings its own unique blend of issues. How do they do that in a fair way?